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Ocean Education

Bring the Ocean Into Your Classroom

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Audience versions of this page: Students

  • How Big is a Blue Whale?

    Students Discover Just How Big These Giants of the Ocean Are

    A blue whale dives down in the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. Blue whales are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth. Adults can grow to be 25 to 32 meters (82 to 105 feet) long and can weigh up to 181, 437 kilograms (200 tons). Their hearts alone can weigh as much as an automobile.

  • Emperor Penguins on Ice

    Discover How Emperor Penguins Use Physics to Survive

  • Marine Ecology Unit

    Find Project-Based Learning Resources on Marine Ecology

    Loggerhead turtles are the most common species of sea turtle found in U.S. waters.

  • No Mess Dissection

    Engage Your Students With a Current Environmental Issue

    Plastic materials extracted from the bolus.

  • The Arctic Ocean

    Enric Sala Shares Some Hot Facts About this Cool Ocean

    Not all icebergs are as big as houses. "Bergy bits" are pieces of ice that float no more than 5 meters (16.5 feet) above the ocean. Growlers reach only one meter (3.3 feet). This boat navigates brash ice, a collection of different kinds of icebergs, in front of a large iceberg or tidewater glacier off the coast of Greenland.

Ocean Education

Bring engaging and important ocean learning to your classroom. Use these resources to help your students learn about ocean life, human interactions with the ocean, and the ocean’s physical geography, and to gain the information necessary to formulate their own opinions on ocean-related environmental issues.

Activities for Grades K-2

Activities for Grades 3-5

Activities for Grades 6-8

Resources for Grades 9-12

Unit

Unit

Go to our marine ecology unit to find project-based learning resources you can use to teach students about marine ecology, human impacts on the ocean, and ocean conservation.

Games

My Ocean

My Ocean

Build your ocean in this fun game! Players learn about the world ocean, marine organisms, and predator-prey relationships.

Illustrations

Marine Ecosystems

Marine Ecosystems

Use these illustrations with students in Grades 3-5 to explore various marine ecosystems.

Marine Communities

Marine Communities

Use these illustrations with students in Grades 9-12 to explore various marine ecosystems.

Exploration

Ocean Exploration

Ocean Exploration

Did you know that 98% of the ocean remains unexplored? Dive into unknown depths with this GeoStory.

Voyages Across the Ocean

Voyages Across the Ocean

Be at the forefront of exploration and travel around the globe alongside history's favorite explorers with this GeoStory.

Funded in part by

What is World Oceans Day?

What is World Oceans Day?

Find Out, Wear Blue, and Tell Two!

Environmental Literacy

One Ocean

One Ocean

Download this free, reader-friendly guide for teaching about the critical environmental topic of the ocean.

Marine Recreation Community Workshop Toolkit

Marine Recreation Community Workshop Toolkit

Raise public awareness about ocean conservation in your community by hosting a workshop.

Related Resources

Reference

Partner Content

50 Ways to Save the Ocean

50 Ways to Save the Ocean

Want to inspire your students to save the ocean? Here's how! Check out this helpful guide, developed by our friends at Blue Frontier.

Download a PDF version of the guide

The Ocean

The Ocean

The Ocean

Find out what National Geographic offers to support ocean conservation.

Ocean Views

Ocean Views

Dive into ocean issues with this blog from National Geographic's Ocean Initiative.

Ocean for Life

Ocean for Life

See how students from around the world connect to the ocean through photography.